- New research finds that the Mediterranean diet helps lower hypertension risk.
- The study followed participants for 20 years before determining the effects of the diet.
- Experts explain the Mediterranean diet’s heart health benefits.
The Mediterranean diet has well-established health benefits; lowering your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke and dementia to name a few. Now, researchers in Greece found another: lowering hypertension risk and aiding in high blood pressure.
A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at the cardiovascular advantages of the Mediterranean diet. Researchers analysed data spanning 20 years and found that people who consistently followed a Mediterranean-style diet had a lower risk of developing hypertension (high blood pressure) than those who did not stick to the diet as closely.
The study occurred in 2002 through 2022, and involved 3,042 participants who were not hypertensive at the beginning. The researchers collected a variety of information on the participants at the start, including glucose and cholesterol levels, body weight, and blood pressure.
To see how closely the participants followed the Mediterranean diet at the beginning of the study, they were assigned a MedDietscore based on eating the following food groups: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, potatoes, legumes, fish and olive oil. Over 20 years, researchers followed up with the participants to assess their MedDietScore and to check for the development of hypertension, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The study found that participants who closely adhered to the Mediterranean diet had the lowest risk of developing hypertension. The group with the highest MedDietScore, who followed the Mediterranean diet the best, had a hypertension incidence rate of 8.7%. In comparison, people who had the lowest MedDietScore, and therefore followed the diet less closely, had hypertension rates of 35.5% by the end of the study.
Researchers also wanted to evaluate how following the diet consistently impacted hypertension risk. They found that those who were closely adhering to the Mediterranean diet regularly exhibited a 46.5% lower 20-year hypertension risk compared to those who were frequently not following the diet.
So what about the Mediterranean diet makes it great for regulating blood pressure and optimising heart health? The answer may lie in a specific nutrient. Typically, meal patterns that include potassium-rich foods (like fruits, vegetables and legumes) are beneficial for keeping your blood pressure in check, says dietitian Melissa Prest. “The Mediterranean diet is a great example of a meal pattern that includes these foods and is lower in saturated fat and sugar.”
When following a Mediterranean diet, you’ll generally get plenty of veggies and fruits that offer dietary fibre, potassium and magnesium, all of which are associated with healthy blood pressure, adds dietitian Jackie Newgent. Plus, “you’ll be able to enjoy liberal use of olive oil, which is also linked to lowered blood pressure.”
Compared to a standard American diet, people following a Mediterranean diet are consuming more minimally processed foods, plant foods, fibre and healthy fats, explains Prest. “This mix is important when eating to maintain normal blood pressure.”
If you are at risk for high blood pressure and want to adopt Mediterranean diet principles, consider adding fruits and vegetables to most meals and snacks, mix up your protein by choosing plant proteins more often, and savour sweets and red meat as an occasional treat, Prest advises.
The bottom line
We know that the Mediterranean diet is often recommended for overall heart health, but this new research specifically shows the benefits of following the eating pattern in those with high blood pressure. This study showed that long-term adoption of the Mediterranean diet has a big impact on reducing high blood pressure risk, says Prest. Newgent agrees that it’s not about a quick-fix diet, and these results suggest that following the eating pattern long-term is advised for better heart health.
In general, people with high blood pressure can benefit from following a Mediterranean-style diet with the addition of consuming less salt and alcohol, advises Prest. With that said, if someone needs to avoid food like nuts, for instance, or curb a nutrient such as potassium, that’s prevalent in a Mediterranean diet, they may simply need to follow a modified, personalised version of it, says Newgent. Also, if you have health concerns, like low blood pressure, work with a registered dietitian nutritionist to help you tweak the diet to address those concerns, says Prest.
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